SD07 Conference Public Service Event

1
SD07 Conference(Public Service Event)

• Presentation by
• Jonathon Porritt
• Chairman, Sustainable Development Commission
• 22 February 2007

2
Who we are

• UK Governments independent watchdog on
  sustainable development (SD)
• Our role through advocacy, advice and scrutiny,
  we help to put sustainable development at the
  heart of Government
• Reporting to the Prime Minister and First
  Ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

3
Critical Friend

• Not likely to be popular
• (Nuclear Review, Sustainable Communities
  Plan etc)
• Recognise Leadership (Climate Change (G8 Plus 5),
  Sustainable Development Strategy)
• Sustainable Development in Government

4
Our Golden Age

• Going

Going..
Gone?
5
The Peak Oil Debate

• Global oil extraction will peak in
• 2008?
• 2012?
• 2018?
• 2030?
• Goldman Sachs the 100 barrel by ?

6
IPCC 4th Assessment Report (The Science)

• CO2 levels at their highest for 650,000 years

• Climate change unequivocally happening 90
  certainty that its due to man-made emissions

• Best guess indicates global temperature will
  rise by 1.8ºc to 4ºc over next century

• Worst case indicates up to 6.4ºc

• Stabilization at 550ppm could mean a rise of
  at least 3ºc

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IPCC 4th Assessment Report (The Implications)

• 10/15 years to put in place serious measures to
  start reducing emissions of CO2

• Kyoto post-2012 negotiations now critical

• Global consensus on stabilization target the
  first step along that path

• 550ppm totally inadequate 450ppm necessary

• Target of 60 reduction by 2050 inadequate
  closer to 80/85 now necessary

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Keeping Up With The Science
? Russian permafrost
? Arctic sea ice
? Carbon losses from soil
? Greenlands glaciers
? Amazon rainforests drying out
? Antarctic Ice Sheets
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• 550ppm

3C
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5th Rider of the Apocalypse

• Dustbowl from Texas to Montana

• Greenland ice sheet melts down Arctic sea ice is
  all but gone

• Sea levels rise by at least 1 metre (already
  rising by 3.1cm a decade)

• Great Barrier Reef dead

• Amazon Rainforests dry out engulfed in
  catastrophic firestorm

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Death of Nature

• Deforestation, desertification.
• Overfishing.
• Build up of toxics.
• Water stress and water shortages.
• Loss of biodiversity.
• Water pollution.
• Air pollution.

12
Roses from Kenya

• This Valentines Day, you can be a
• romantic, reduce your environmental
• impact, and help make poverty history.
• This is about social justice and making it
• easier, not harder, for African people to
• make a decent living.
• (Hilary Benn)

13
The Nightmare of Naivasha

• Ten fold increase in population (300,000) in 30
  years

• Water level in the lake down by 3 metres in the
  same period

• Extensive deforestation for charcoal soil
  erosion through increased grazing

• Invasion by alien species

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• At this rate of consumption
• we shall lose the lake
• completely within 10-15
• years.

(Anon)
15

One fifth of humanity live in countries where
many people think nothing of spending 2 a day on
a cappuccino. Another fifth of humanity survive
on less than a dollar a day, and live in
countries where children die for want of a simple
anti-mosquito bed net.
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• Capitalism today
• is the only economic
• show in town.

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Revisiting Brundtland

• Sustainable ECONOMIC Development
• A different way of creating and distributing
  wealth with social justice and ecological
  sustainability at its heart.

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What is Sustainable Development?

• Sustainable development is the only
• thing that stands between us and an
• utterly miserable descent into
• ecological collapse, resource wars,
• worsening inequity and social
• implosion.

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Sustainable Capitalism
SUSTAINABILITY DEPENDS UPON MAINTAINING,
AND WHERE POSSIBLE, INCREASING STOCKS OF
CERTAIN KINDS OF CAPITAL, SO THAT WE LEARN TO
LIVE OFF THE FLOWS (THE INCOME) WITHOUT
DEPLETING THE STOCK OF CAPITAL ITSELF. IF
CONSUMPTION IS AT THE EXPENSE OF INVESTMENT, OR
RESULTS IN NET CAPITAL DEPLETION SO THAT THE
CAPITAL STOCK DECLINES, THEN SUCH CONSUMPTION IS
NOT SUSTAINABLE, AND WILL BE REDUCED IN THE
FUTURE.
20
Stern Review
Benefits of strong, early action considerably
outweigh the costs.
Business as usual results in economic damage of
between 5 and 20 of global GDP every year (the
appropriate estimate is likely to be in the upper
part of this range).
Disruption on a scale similar to those associated
with the Great Wars and the economic depression
of the first half of the 20th Century.
Cost of action can be limited to around 1 of
global GDP every year.
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Guiding principles
Achieving a Sustainable Economy Building a
strong, stable and sustainable economy which
provides prosperity and opportunities for all,
and in which environmental and social costs fall
on those who impose them (polluter pays), and
efficient resource use is incentives.
Promoting Good Governance Actively promoting
effective participative systems of governance in
all levels of society - engaging people's
creativity, energy, and diversity.
Using Sound Science Responsibly Ensuring policy
is developed and implemented on the basis of
strong scientific evidence, whilst taking into
account scientific uncertainty (through the
precautionary principle) as well as public
attitudes and values.
Securing the Future delivering sustainable
development strategy
22
The Role of Government

• Governments principal task is to
• frame markets and incentivise
• personal behaviour to enable all
• that to happen.

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The Policy Tool Kit

• Regulation
• Land Use and Planning
• Economic Instruments
• Fiscal Reform
• Voluntary Measures/Covenants
• Sustainable Procurement
• Incentivisation
• Grants/Subsidies

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Defining Sustainable Procurement

• Sustainable Procurement is a process whereby
• organizations meet their needs for goods,
  services, works
• and utilities in a way that achieves value for
  money on a
• whole life basis in terms of generating benefits
  to society and
• the economy, whilst minimising damage to the
  environment.

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Sustainable Procurement Task Force

• Lead by example
• Set clear priorities
• Raise the bar
• Remove barriers
• Build capacity
• Capture opportunities

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The Policy Tool Kit

• Regulation
• Land Use and Planning
• Economic Instruments
• Fiscal Reform
• Voluntary Measures/Covenants
• Sustainable Procurement
• Incentivisation
• Grants/Subsidies

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• Zero Carbon
• Housing by 2016

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• Take Stock

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Glasses Half Full

• 10-15 years to get it sorted

• Solutions still available

• But if not now, when?